


By The White Wolf

by 0utOfTheDark



Category: X-Men (Comicverse), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Feral Behavior, Kidnapping, M/M, Mind Control, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pack Dynamics
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-15
Updated: 2017-03-25
Packaged: 2018-01-04 17:07:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1083511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/0utOfTheDark/pseuds/0utOfTheDark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Piotr bought a cabin in the forests of Canada; a getaway that he enjoys going to during his time off. After switching to a more flexible job, he is able to work at home, prompting him to choose to move there permanently. During a hike to the woods, he found himself being stalked by something in the night…</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1- A Preamble to introduce most of the characters.

Moving out to the forest was the best idea I’ve thought of since finding the cabin. About 30 minutes to the nearest town, it gives me the better of two worlds, and best of all, there’s a couple of farms near close enough, that I’ll be able to buy the freshest foods around. I loved coming here ever since my first expedition here; I love the feel of the open air-the freshness of it all.

 

“Snowflake would love the view here.” I say as I place some pictures of family around. “Still can’t believe she has grown so much. Even wanting me to stop with the “kiddy nickname” as she puts it. *Heh* like she can ever stop being my little snowflake.”

 

A grin on my smile shows both for the memories and as I finish moving the last bunch of boxes in. A two-story cabin, furnishings are simple as I finally get to arrange the rest of the furniture now that it’s out of the van. A simple abode, with kitchen, bathroom with pluming that actually works(being glad for that), yet also generates its own electricity with a small generator. Can’t work without it, you know, as I work in animation, I must have this at least.

 

Interesting how I came to this, working freelance with various small studios gives one a flexible set of hours and I’m able to work without the hassle of clocking in, and thanks to the wonders of internet and Skype, I can do video conference if ever I’m needed to join in a meeting. Grateful, I am for the simplicity of technology and what it can accomplish.

 

Light starts to dim as the calm of night envelops his new home. To commemorate the first day, grabbed a drink and my drawing kit. I sat a blanket on the ground a couple of yards away and drew my surroundings, the light from the house being my only source for vision.  It’s been interesting, drawing in gray-scale as the half-moon illuminates the night sky. After a bit, I sat down my pencil and paper, grabbed my beer and laid back to enjoy what I couldn’t back in Portland—a map of the whole starry sky.

 

I hear some howls echo in the distance as wolves sing good tune this night. I even feel like I want to join them, as I did way back when; I love listening to them. The wind blew lightly as the moonlight lit an outline on the trees. It made for an interesting setup.

 

“A couple of minutes and I already feel ready to dose off…” a yawn creeps out of me as the day’s move takes its toll. “Maybe I’ll sleep for a few minutes” he starts to say, as he hears the calm of the forest, “Too calm” he feels as there is barely a sound to be heard-no insects, no birds, nor the howling of the wolves. I hear something a distance away, movement slowly coming closer. I think I see shadows off into the distance. Taking little chance this being a hallucination, as not trusting your instincts could be fatal out here, I grab my stuff and rush to the house.

 

Panic races through me as he reaches and slams the door. Peeking out the window, he sees nothing out there, save for the trees brushing around. “*Sigh* Last time I sleep outside after drinking” the Russian says out loud as he brushes of the cold sweat of his daydreamed nightmare. “Shoot-” he bemoaned as he observed the state of his drawings. Crinkled during his fright, he straightened them out best he could before setting them on his desk. “What else needs to be done for tomorrow?” he thinks as he heads in to his room on the second story. “I think I can finish most of the boxes before the sun sets; that should make a great layout…”

 

As I turn in for the night, I can’t lose this smile. Can’t believe I have such a beautiful place to myself.

 

Piotr sleeps, unaware that his abode is being watched. Watched by someone who dislikes the intrusion of his territory. Despite wanting to drive away the intruder from his lands, he doesn’t. There’s something about this being that makes me hesitate wanting to rip him apart like any other who walked to my territory. I think I’ll keep an eye on him. Leaving with a growl, he communes with the shadows. Illuminated from the moonlight, a pack of wolves emerge from the trees. He wants to keep an eye on the intruder, see if it’s a threat to the pack.

 

He grunts and motions, as though the wild man can communicate with them. Yet, that is the case, and with a “skint,” of his claws, the wolves break back into the shadows. One last look at the cabin, followed by a “skint” to reel his claws in, and he was gone.

 

* * *

 

 

            The next day went by pretty fast, unpacking majority of the boxes into the evening; I have enough time to drive to a farm and pick up dinner before the it gets too late. Driving up to the first farm on my list, Cassidy dairy. I spotted two people walking out of a barn. I walked over and introduced myself to, as it turns out, the owner and his daughter.

           

“Hello, neighbor, I am Piotr Rasputin your new neighbor. I moved in at the cabin in the woods.”

           

“Och, welcome t’ me humble farm; Th’ names Sean Cassidy, an dis is m’ daughter, Theresa. What can I do ya fer?” He gave me a big grin, happy at the prospect of meeting someone new. Theresa just gawked at him.

           

“I take it you rarely get new visitors round here, let alone a new resident?” Piotr chuckled a bit.

 

 

“Aye, not many changes round here. Though, tis be true we’re a bit out of the way, we keep up with the various happenings of the community; shoot, the town south of ‘ere is where I commute t’ take Theresa t’ school. My farm delivers a ton a business to th’ town so if y’need to know who t’ go to fer anything, I could set ya up with people who’ll not steer ya wrong.”

 

“Spasibo, for the offer.” Already, I’ve met a decent comrade first time around. “Might I ask what products you have?”

 

Theresa pulled something out of a pocket and handed it to me. A menu of what they produce and sell, the prices look pretty decent. I pointed to some of the cheese products that caught my eye, and was recommended to try raw milk instead of processed. I hesitated at the thought, but after hearing some of the health benefits, compared to pasteurize, I decided to give it a try. Before I left, they gave me a house-warming cheese basket with goat milk (I like trying different things) and some meat slices from the next farm I’m going to next. With a better set of directions to the meat farm, I bid my goodbyes.

 

“Don’ be a stranger now, drop on bye again an I’ll introduce ya to the rest of the clan.” Sean states.

 

“They’ll luv ya. M’ uncle will probably talk ya t’ death of his stories here. Y’ can’t live here without coming out with some interesting stories” Theresa comments happily.

 

After a bit of sarcastically thinking, I answered “Hmmm, ok. That sounds like fun.” Leaving with a positive note, I turn towards the next farm, one that does both meats and produce. Trying one of the meat slices from the basket, it melted in my mouth; the delicious taste has me wanting more. Think I’m going to like it here…

 

Arriving at the next farm, America’s meats n’ produce, I was greeted by an interesting pair of workers wearing garb with the American colors. The shorter one introduced himself as Sam, while introducing Steve, who walked behind him.

 

“Hello Comrades, I’m Piotr, the new neighbor who moved into the cabin within the woods. I hear high regards from the Cassidy’s of your products. I tried your meat slices, and they were delicious!”

 

At hearing this, Steve gave a great smile at the compliment, and Sam smiled but started blushing as Steve slung his arm on his shoulder. “Well, glad you enjoyed the slices, son. It’s apart of this guy’s family recipes. Granted, with how many is in Sam’s family, its any wonder why we don’t have more.” Steve’s praise gave the hayseed a deeper shade of red around the cheeks.

 

“Shucks, sir. T’was nothin’ my ma couldn’t do in half the time it takes me. I’s still got a ton of learnin t’ do before I can get better than her.” Sam says, shyin away from the owner’s eyes. “Now, don’t count yourself short, Sam. I haven’t had a day I don’t hear from the town how good our meats are. You have a great thing going.” Steve reassures him.

 

I didn’t know someone could get any redder than Sam was at that moment. I smiled at their interactions. It was obvious the hayseed had feelings for Steve even a blind man could see, but Steve himself, for reasons unknown, doesn’t seem to see the attraction. He seems more aloof than my brother Mikhail.

 

After a few more compliments, Steve turns his attention towards me. “Well, it seems like you’ve got some ideas of what you want, but since we also do produce, what else do you think you’re looking for?” directing me towards the barn, he handed out a pamphlet of goods he has on stock. After listing a few choices he directed Sam to keep me company while he got the goods.

 

“He looks like a good person. What you would call an… All-American person? I believe that is what it is called?” Piotr stated with little uncertainty. I still stumble on American phrases.

 

Sam smiled and stared a bit as Steve walked away. “Yea, he’s the bee’s knee.” The bee’s wha-, “I do not know this phrase. What is the “bee’s knee” and what do bees have to do with you liking Steve?”

 

Sam woke out of his stupor in shock. “W-what d’you mean, peter?” “Its Piotr, friend, and I was asking what does the bee’s knees mean.” Piotr corrected.

 

“It’s a sayin when we think of someone as cool, or the best. W-why do you think I like Steve?” Sam asked with a jittery look about him. He’s uncomfortable with this topic it seems.

 

“Just…the way you look at him, it looks like you care for him more than just a friend. Though I don’t want to assume. If I am wrong, I won’t bring it up anymore.” Piotr stated in assurance. He knew many friends who would shy away from this topic, mainly because they were unsure of themselves. Sam paused for a while, like he was trying to come up with something. But before he had a chance to, Steve came back with the stuff and he snapped back to.

 

“Here you go, Peter. I added a bit of extra meat slices, as a welcome to town.” Steve stated with a grin. “His name is Piotr.” Sam corrected him before Piotr had the chance. “Sorry about that.” Steve apologized as he gave the basket to the Russian.

 

“No problems, I have no issues with that at all.” He looked at Sam as he said this, a breath let loose as he got the hint. Looking back at the owner “I understand it is different to pronounce my name, but all is well, comrades.” Piotr says with a grin. Steve grins back. “Come back any time, we’ll treat you with some of our specials.”

 

“Spasibo” Piotr says as he heads to the car. They both waved goodbye. Sam seemed happy at the end of it. Probably was scared I’d be a bigot or something. How can I be a bigot if I’m gay myself? It would probably surprise him if he knew.

 

 By the time I arrived back home with all the stuff, the sun is setting and the wind is picking up. So much for drawing the forest landscape before the setting sun; that aside, I’m feeling pretty tired anyway. The long day wore me out more so than I thought. After putting the food away, I went to my studio area to write down some ideas for landscape locations. With being a freelance background designer, I’ve worked with mainly organic themes or layouts in nature. This forest area is perfect for references on my works, so I’ve much to work with.

 

“Think I’ll go for a hike tomorrow” Piotr mumbled to himself, “check out the area, while the weather is still fair.” The weather, I hear, doesn’t turn bad even in the winter, though I still have to beware those heavy snow and blizzard conditions. I think I’ll call my family tomorrow. It’s already getting late, as it is, back where I came from and getting used to the time change.

 

As I start getting ready to hit the hey, I hear howling in the distance. “This is a great way to end the busy day. (oh that rhymed)."


	2. First Meetings

Piotr woke up to the sound of loud banging on the door. Looking at the time, it wasn’t even 3 hours before he found himself cursing in Russian and slowly dragging his frame to the door. Being in sleep-mode, he didn’t consider who it might be, and was shocked to find an old friend in the patio.

 

            “So what, you decide to move around the area, and forgot to drop a dime to some of your old friends or something?” the snark in the intruders voice had Piotr wake from his half-sleep. “Bobby!!! What are you doing here, and so late?” he replied followed by the murmur, “and I don’t know that idiom.”

 

            Laughing, another voice states, “It means you moved in witout dropping by to see us. und as for vat we are doing here…” he pauses as he pulls out a basket of goods, “Ve got you a housewarming gift.”

 

            “Kurt!!!” Piotr shouted with a grin, “Bobby, Kurt it’s good to see you” he says as he pulls them into a bear hug, dropping the gift lightly on the ground. “It’s been so long. How did you know I was even here? How have you guy’s been? Where’s Clint?” Piotr sped-talked while still holding the two.

 

“Funny story. But first, can I breath?” Bobby struggled a bit in the hug, while trying to catch his breath. Releasing his grip, Piotr patted his comrades on the back. “Sorry, I didn’t even know you guy’s knew I was here. I wanted to surprise you when I got settled in a bit.”

 

            “Trust me,” Kurt stated, “you can’t hide much from a town dis small, even if you do live a bit out here. I do like what you’ve done wit the place.”

 

            “Yea, we actually heard from Clint that you showed up at his workplace, The Cassidy dairy. As soon as he saw you, he called us. He even found where you lived once he told Sean he was an old friend of yours.” Bobby explained.

 

            “As far as vere he’s at, earlier this week, he found, what you say, “Bigfoot tracks” around the edge of the forest. Since den, he’s been getting things set up for a weekend expedition.” Kurt followed up. “You showing up at the same time must be a coincidence. One that Clint wants to take advantage of.”

 

            Bigfoot, huh? Clint still hasn’t changed. Don’t know when he started on Bigfoots trail though, Piotr thought, then added, “What do you mean, “take advantage of?””

 

            “What Kurt is trying to say is, we were planning on joining Clint and make a weekend with the buds. Since you’ve showed up, we planned to ask you to join us like old time. Just the four of us.” Bobby smiled with that last statement.

            As soon as Piotr processed what they were asking, his smile beamed as he reached for them in a great bear hug. “Comrades, of course I’ll join; to have the group back together again is like having 2+2=fish.”

 

            They both stared at Piotr as they tried to piece how he was able to make that combination. As Piotr put them down, Kurt said, “Ve make a great combination?” the same time bobby stated, “Are you calling us weird?”

 

            Piotr laughed at their statements. “We make the weirdest combination of any I’ve seen, but that is what also makes us great. Or do you forget already, all the trouble we’ve gotten into together, both good and bad?"

Kurt laughed, “Veren’t you the one who usually gotten us into trouble?”

            Piotr countered, “I think you’re getting me confused with Bobby and Clint.” “HEY” Bobby shouted. Piotr continued “I’ve never led us through any of the scrapes these two seemed to cause us on a weekly basis,” pointing at bobby for emphasis.

 

            “No, but you und your knack for bad luck always made things worse for wear. We’ve had to save your tail more times than I can count; I still remember the many close calls we’ve had… Those ver good times.” Kurt said, a small smile appearing with the memories. They all were silent as they recounted some of their older memories…

_Bobby, Kurt, and Clint were pretty much Piotr’s first real friends during the days his family moved around. Piotr’s father was in the military so he was stationed throughout the U.S. and some international cities (though Piotr found we were in Russia more often than naught, since his family originated there). On some trips, they’d be there only a couple of weeks, but it was on those longer stays, that Piotr’s met with good friends, like the Summers kids in Connecticut, Mariko Yashida in Tokyo, or Bill Foster and Luke Cage in Harlem._

_It was around one of the many times his dad said they’d stay put, when he was about 12-13 or so, that he’s met them all. And trust when Piotr says that at the time, they were the last to become friends._

_Kurt was a foreign student like himself, though from what I hear, four months fresh from Berlin. Bobby was considered the class clown and, for some reason hung out with people of various people, both friendly and not so. Lastly, Clint was the X Middle School bully that messed with Kurt more often than naught. Piotr heard it was usually thanks to Bobby that Clint didn’t turn worse than he could have been. Piotr guesses Bobby was one of Clint’s few friends there._

_By the time Piotr moved there, it was already early into October. Piotr was introduced to Kurt, who showed me around. He thinks it was mainly because we were foreign students, which was kind of stupid, because he is Russian, and Kurt is German. Though I didn’t complain, as Kurt helped me a great deal, navigating around the school and showing me to my classes. They became fast friends as Piotr found they had most of the same classes._

_He found that Kurt had a heavy accent to most of the way he spoke (not unlike himself, but being in a military family, he has a better handle in English) which was a hassle in a class like first period English. But then some jerk seemed to have made it worse by throwing a paper ball at Kurt as soon as they entered. Some of the kids laughed, but Piotr was not amused._

_He searched for the perpetrator that threw the ball at Kurt. Grinning with glee, the jerk put on some purple sunglasses; shining like new through the class he found his target.  Grabbing the paper ball, pulled some extra paper out from his binder, and wadded it into a super paper ball. Then Piotr “gave it back to sender,” he thought of as the right saying, and chucked it as hard as he could. The ball hit dead on, knocking the jerk’s sunglasses off his head, breaking as they landed on the floor._

_The class became silent in shock, and Kurt’s eyes were wide with fear as the jerk looked first to his sunglasses, then to him, a glare posted on his face. “Who the hell are you?” Shouted the stranger. Piotr replied, “I am one you do not want to…” Piotr paused then looked at Kurt, “to…to mess with? Is that right?”_

_“Da, I belief so.” Kurt replied softly, somewhat confused at how the conversation turned. Before Kurt could say more, Clint stated, “Who cares! You broke my sunglasses, how are you going to pay it back?” stepping up to Piotr._

_Not one to back down from anything, he stepped closer to the teen, (looking down on him since he’s a head shorter) and replied, “How I see it, you break even, the way you treating Kurt,” and how everyone else did nothing shows how long you’ve been treating him, Piotr thought to himself, “That’s karma, so be taking the hint.”_

_They both glared at each other in silence before a stranger piped in walking to the jerk’s, “What is your name, new kid?”_

_“Piotr,” was all he said._

_“Well Peter, my name’s Bobby. Mr. Happy here is Clint.”_

_They both turned to him. Piotr corrected him, “Its Piotr!” the same time Clint grumbled, “Really, man!” Bobby just grinned, “Too easy,” and Kurt chuckled at the statement._

_“Piotr… Pi_ oTR… PIOTR!” Bobby shouted as Piotr came back from his memory, “You zoned out on us there. You awake?”

 

“No. This is because you woke me up after only 3 hours of sleep.” Piotr sighed, “Is all good.”

 

“Ve aught to get out of your hair, so as you can get some sleep, Ja Bobby? Ve’ll come at a better time.” Kurt started as he got his stuff, then paused as he looked to Piotr, “You are coming vith us, yes?”

 

“Da, of course. Any time spent with old comrades is always welcome.” Piotr stated matter of fact-ly.

 

“Good,” Bobby smiled, “Now that all that is said and done with, I think we’d best start moving,” Walking to the door, Bobby turned to warn Piotr with an evil smile, “If you sleep in, Clint and I are not responsible for our actions.”

 

Piotr laughed, “Like you can even get in. I made sure these doors are fools-proof.”

 

“I think you mean, “fool-proof”” Bobby corrected thinking it was an error.

 

Piotr replied, “No, I mean exactly what I said.”

 

Thinking about it for a sec, Kurt laughed as soon after Bobby realized what it was about. “HEY!” was his reply. All three laughed as the pair went to their respective cars. Walking back into the house, Piotr gave into rest once again; tomorrow, he’ll get stuff packed.

  

* * *

 

 

In the woods, three sets of human eyes watch as the people in the cabin leave, sensing no malicious intent in any of them. The tallest growled, wanting to go and deal with the intruder, claws at the ready but was reigned back by a skint sound; the blue one referred to their leader, the smallest of the three as to what should be done.

 

After a pause, the leader skints back his claws, and has his beta’s relays his answer to the rest of the pack: that they stay away from the intruders and warn the pack if they enter the woods. Malicious intent will be met and dealt with, but we leave alone the humans who present no harm to the pack.

 

They went back to the woods to prepare for the next day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, almost all of the characters are accounted for. The only question I have is what do you think? This is also directed to how I present the accents, are they working well?  
> This story is predicted to have a couple of spin-offs, so it should be fun.


	3. Life is Art

Two days later…

 

            Piotr is rechecking his supplies for the trip. After setting the last of it into the pick-up, he drives to the patch of dirt that is decent for parking. He sees his friend’s cars, but as they look empty, he assumed they went ahead to the campsite. It took an hour and a half to reach camp.  Little movement in the clearing tells him they’re almost done with setting up the site. Piotr walked to the site as Kurt exited one of the three tents surrounding the fire pit.

 

“Velcome, mein friend. I vas beginning to vonder if you forgot the way,” Kurt said as he zipped up the tent.

 

“Is no trouble finding way here. Almost took wrong turn at Albuquerque,” Piotr replied as he set his stuff down.

 

“He knows American references, now if we can only do something about that accent,” Bobby replied jokingly appearing in the clearing with firewood in tow. Piotr’s reply was a slug to the shoulder that made him drop the wood, “OW!”

 

“I LIKE my accent” Piotr stated sternly, but with a smile and no venom in his voice. Knowing Bobby for so long, Piotr knew his friend held no animosity with his jokes, though he still had the biggest mouth this side of the border. Piotr helped a bruised and chuckling Bobby pick up the dropped wood.

 

“Where’s Clint?” Piotr asks as he carries and sets the firewood next to Bobby’s tent.

 

“He went to set up some new targets for his archery near the stream. Clint thinks he can catch some grub after he starts up tomorrow. The way he shoots, I’d bet he’d have grub set for the rest of the weekend.” Bobby rants with exaggeration as Piotr sets his tent. “He’ll be busy for a while, so I’m thinking of taking a roundabout hike to meet up with Clint. Wanna join me?”

 

“Ya. Jus let me get ready.” Kurt says as he heads back to his tent.

 

“Sure, dat sounds good.” Piotr says as he quickly sets up his tent and grabs his hiking bag. He makes sure he has his art supplies before departure. It’s been a while since the last time Piotr hiked this trail; the longer route takes about 30 minutes to reach the stream, where Clint is poised and quiet in concentration. Bow and arrow strung, he waits patiently as fish swim past him. We hold our breath as he releases an arrow into the stream, striking a decent sized fish. As he pulls it from the water, he notices the group waiting near the trees.

 

“It’s about time you showed up, I’m almost finished getting dinner for tonight. Hope you don’t mind waiting a bit longer” he grinned as he points his bow to a tree holding a small assortment of fish on a wire.

 

As Clint readied his bow, Kurt walked to the fish, knife from his bag in hand, and brought the line to the river, intent on gutting them before heading back. Piotr was setting art supplies ready in a dry spot near some tree’s and a stump, getting ready to sketch the scene, and Bobby just sat and watched, not wanting to interrupt their as routine. Bobby was the cook of the lot, which tied their tight-knit group together.

 

As an animator, Piotr improved upon his sketching to where he could keep up with the various movements of his friends, finding better angles to present themselves in his drawings. Never let it be said he didn’t criticize himself when he messed up his drawings. Piotr kept a pace as he finalized the outline of his sketch, and was ready to add on more detail until Clint groaned, stretching his stiff body upward, “*SIGH, I think I’m getting rusty; haven’t gotten this sore in a while. Kurt, you almost done with the fish?”

 

“Yes, just a couple to go, then I’ve need to put back on da wire.” Kurt stated as he finished a fish, reaching for the next. As Clint gathered his gear, Bobby kept watching as Kurt finished and got the fish back on a wire. He’s always surprised by Kurt’s efficiency with a blade. As Kurt packed his things, he waved his hand to Piotr’s eyes, making sure he got the Russians attention. “Ve’re heading back to ze campsite. You staying?”

 

“Da, I want to draw more of dis scenery while sun is still out.” Piotr replied as he showed them his incomplete sketch.

 

Clint whistles as he praises Piotr’s work, “Still amazing. Wish I could draw like that”

 

“Eh, we all have our strengths. I doubt you’d have da patience to sit all day trying to draw a scenery.” Piotr replied. “I know I have the aim of an armless blind man compared to your archery.”

 

“Ha, isn’t that the truth” Bobby chimed in, “Though now that you’re sticking around, maybe we can practice or something and make this a regular thing? “Keep the ball rolling,” right?”

 

Once Bobby gets on a roll, he gets on a roll. “Sure” “Vy not” and “Ok” were the replies.

 

After they packed and double-checked everything, Piotr saw them back to the trail before sitting back where his supplies were. Then he continued what he started, barely noticing howling in the distance.

 

* * *

 

 

His name is Logan.

 

That’s all he knows, or cares to remember, about his former self. A fog shrouds his mind, and though he knows he’s missing a literal part of himself, there’s relief at this unknown. Logan’s ok with this, in part because he knows he isn’t alone; leading both a pack of wolves and outsider’s with issues of their own helps with those off days.

 

He stood as he heard one of his wolf scouts howl through the forest. In a way only those in tuned with nature can be, Logan understood what the wolf was conveying; intruders in his land. He also understood that the presence of man was not one to be taken lightly, and if handled wrong, could bring issues to his area; most times though, Logan had to scare away the more foolhardy ones who ventured too deep into his forest. Logan exited the den he was sequestered in, deciding to see for himself what threats may have entered.

 

As he was heading towards the call, some wolves at his side, he noticed a pup, no older than 6 months old, tailing them. Logan stopped and with a stern growl, he motioned for the youngest one back to the dens. With a whine, the pup complied, and they resumed their trek.

 

Reaching the stream, but keeping hidden, he took a couple of sniffs in the air. Logan smelled four scents; three that was faint, meaning they weren’t around, and one strikingly musky scent that had Logan wanting to pinpoint the source. With a grunt, he ordered the wolves to circle around. As they obeyed, Logan reached closer to the mass responsible for the musk, his back to the trees and somewhat hunched over, slight movements pronounced as hands moved back and forth on a sheet of paper. Filled with curiosity, Logan carelessly stepped on branches of a bush and froze. The person didn’t react, keeping a pace as he kept skimming the page.

 

After a moment, realizing he wouldn’t turn, Logan started again towards the clueless person. He finally reached the tree the body was resting on, slowly unveiling his claws from one of his arms. Before he put the fear into this person, he decided to humor himself and see what the person has been doing. With a look that can only be described as surprise, he’s looking at a double of the stream that is in front of him; the only difference is that there are three humans in the picture. Logan is mainly surprised at how this human could convey so much in such small space; he can see what each person is doing, like its happening now.

 

Logan skints his claws back and motions the wolves to back off. He then circles back to the trees and finds a better vantage point to have a better look at this human that has affected him so much. With wide eyes, he is surprised at his size. Sizing the man up to be as tall as Sabertooth, with bulging muscles, a slick torso, and meaty hands that somehow can create such beauty. When he reached the face, Logan’s breathing hitched as he saw the sky blue eyes and a fire shown in the pupils as he focused on his project.

 

For the first in a many years, Logan’s mind is reeling on possibilities, actually thinking remembering past times (any times really) he’s ever felt this way. Dull pain starts forming in his head as he’s seeing random blurry images of him with another; a sketch book in hand, intertwined hands, a smile, but no discernable face to remember. Logan treads back to the forest to clear his mind; whoever the artist was, he was unlocking some of Logan’s memories, and something in him isn’t sure he wants to find out the rest.

 

* * *

 

 

Piotr stretches as he unwinds his muscles from the stiffness of drawing for a couple of hours finishing as much as he could before heading back to camp. He thought it turned out well, considering he had little time to draw his friends earlier, but he’s still learning. Packing his things, he carefully places the drawing into his folder and gathered his supplies. The trek back to the site was easier, for Piotr’s relief, which was going downhill. As it came into view, he smelled something in the air, something delicious.

 

He entered with enthusiasm, “That smells delicious.”

 

As the three turned to the voice, Bobby replied first, “Yea? This is a Cajun recipe I learned from a friend this one time I went to New Orleans. The secret is the colored bell peppers, and some spices he gave me that I’ve added to the fish. It’s almost done, so hope you’re hungry.” He smiled as he turned back to dinner.

 

Yes, he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next, we have the introduction of action.


	4. The Hunt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Did some edits, and junk for this and Chapt 5. I'm splitting Chapt 6 into multiple parts, so expect more later

Chapter 4- The hunt

   
Logan is walking back to the wolves’ den, the human still on his mind. He was regaining some flash of memories from before, along with raw emotions that, though only came in small bursts, and were overwhelming. He snarls, crouching into a defensive position; he smells blood. Carefully treading towards the den, he sees the first body, a human with gouging claw marks in his gut followed by a wolf with holes on its side. Seeing red, he rushes forward to the den, passing by more bodies, relief passed through him, as the rest seemed to be human.  
   
He reaches the clearing to see his pack injured, but nonetheless standing. The Sabertooth is licking his wounds, while the blue Beast is keeping watch over the injured and pu-, he rushes over in a panic and counts the wolves. His hackles rose at finding out that three pups have been kidnapped. The Wolverine raised his head and let out a howl…  
 

* * *

 

   
Piotr woke up to a sleeping campsite, fresh crisp morning air inhaled into his lungs. His snowflake always said that he’d be best suited for farming, the way he woke up at the crack of dawn. He stretched and gathered his wits before walking to the river, sketchpad and drawing kit in hand. Piotr wanted to finish up his painting from earlier, inserting more details into the sketch before giving it a spray, so the graphite doesn’t fade or smear. He arrives and searches for the spot he sat in during the sketch, but was halted when he heard cries off to the side of the river. Piotr sets his things down and investigates what could make such a pained cry.  
   
His answer came in the form of black and white wolf pups running down the river, looking at a grey one, being washed into the currents with only a piece of wood saving it’s life. On instinct, he rushes into the river, intercepting the straggling pup. Successful, he treads back to the other two: the bigger one is in front, baring it’s teeth as threateningly as it could; the other tries to put up a front, but Piotr could see the fear in both their eyes. Before any could react to this strange circumstance, the wet pup went into Piotr’s touch, nuzzling and licking his fingers for warmth. Seeing the display, the older pup relaxed a bit and limped forward, the other on its tail.  
   
Noticing the injury and blood, he decided to pick up all three, in hopes his veterinarian friends can help the pups. Aside from Kurt, who is a teacher during the school year and part timer during the summer, it’s interesting how troublemakers Bobby and Clint came to such an occupation without knowing the full story of how we became friends…  
   
Clint’s said he disliked the transfer student after he told Clint off, but truth be told, Piotr was starting to grow on him, not that he’d ever say that to the Russian. He does have a rep to maintain after all. Following their first meeting, Clint has been finding new ways to mess with Piotr and Kurt, from water balloons to paper ball pelting. But as time passed, Clint’s pranks became half-hearted as he started to like both the foreigners, even to protect them from other bullies; “these guy’s are off limits to ya mooks” he said at one point. The running joke Bobby can’t get over is how Clint doesn’t realize they’ve started to become friends.  
   
_One night, both Clint and Bobby came to Kurt’s parents family vet center, ‘The Winding Way’s Veterinarian Center’ with an injured dog in his arms and teary-eyed. Lucky, or Pizza Dog, was hit by a speeding car while chasing Bobby; Bobby explained later on that they’ve had lucky ever since Clint found him near a dumpster eating pizza. It was troubling, not only seeing how quiet Bobby became, but also how nerve-wracking Clint was._  
  
 _Piotr tried to console him, but was pushed to the side; Piotr retaliated by pushing harder; something snapped in Clint as he tackled Piotr to the ground. They both fought for the advantage, tumbling around the wait room, Kurt and Bobby wanting to intervene, but feeling useless during this interaction. Finally Clint took the top position, wild eyes bearing down on Piotr and with fist raised. Never breaking eye contact, a moment passed as the two caught their breath, Piotr slowly got from under him to kneel in front of him._  
  
 _Continuing to look into Clint’s eyes, he says, “It’s going to be ok,” A shaking Clint was the only response as he continued, “He’s going to be alright.” Piotr found later on that Clint had a shit family, whose only silver lining was that they didn’t care if he kept Lucky; he feels there is more to it, but didn’t press it. Piotr kept reassuring Clint as he started breaking down, and tensions started waning as they waited for word on Lucky’s condition._  
  
 _Kurt’s Mom, Margali Szardos, entered the room, giving pause to look about the damaged room, before walking up to Clint and Piotr. “Is he going to be ok?” Clint asked with a vulnerability that surprised Piotr, but didn’t call him on. With a smile, she said, “Lucky has a broken leg, and I’ve re-set it; your dog will make a full recovery,” and paused for a moment, as Clint sighs in relief, “and her pups are unharmed as well,” she said with emphasis._  
  
 _Clint looked up in shock, before he took on a face of unhindered joy, “Lucky’s going to be a mom?” he asked though it was more of a statement, “can I see hi-her?”_  
  
 _Margali smiled, “Sure. She’s asleep right now, but you can take a quick look,” she motioned for the door, and everyone joined Clint to the recovery room. They looked in to see a sleeping Lucky, in a hilarious position; followed by a sudden movement that looked like she was chasing something. We all chuckled lightly before closing the door, while everyone was ushered back to the waiting room, Clint held back. Piotr paused for a moment before hearing the muttered words, “thank you,” over and over._  
  
 _For the next couple of days, Clint and Bobby came to check up on Pizza Dog, playing as much as she’s able, and resting with her when she gets tired. Clint hasn’t talked to Piotr or Kurt during that time, save for asking to see Lucky; Piotr chalked it up to him turning back to his old ways. On the day before Lucky was released, Clint and Bobby came up to him, Bobby ushering in a hesitant Clint. Turning to a puzzled Piotr, Bobby clarifies, “Clint’s under the impression that, since he’s bullied you in the past, you wouldn’t want to see him, even after you guys started to patched up after the last fight. It doesn’t help that he’s a stubborn jerk on his good days.”_  
  
 _Face-palming himself, Clint exclaims, “Thank you, Bobby! I think I can take it from here.”_  
  
 _Bobby leaves and Clint turns to face Piotr, “Yeah… Bobby has a big mouth, but will always tell it straight to ya, no matter how harsh it may be; its like he has a BS meter.”_  
  
 _“I do not know that phrase, ‘tell it straight,’” Piotr commented._  
  
 _“It means to tell the truth to your face,” Clint replied._  
  
 _“So you are a stubborn jerk?” Piotr asks._  
  
 _“I’m trying to be up front with you, and you give lip.” Clint says feeling embarrassed._  
  
 _“Relax, comrade relax. I am only, as they say, razzing you.” Piotr says._  
  
 _“Nobody uses ‘razzing’ anymore, ‘cept for old people,” Clint commented, but paused for a moment, “Comrade? So what, we’re friends after what an ass I’ve been to ya and Kurt?”_  
  
 _Piotr replied, “Bah, is water under bridge, seeing as Bobby told us you’ve protected us from other bullies and stuff. I think we can get along well, don’t you?”_  
  
 _Clint gaped at the revelation, before sighing with a smile and replies, “Sure, man. Sure”_  
  
 _It was after Pizza Dog’s release that Clint became more interested into Veterinarian work; unsurprisingly Bobby followed his childhood friend and started summer internships at the Winding Way. Kurt helped out, but long-term, he wanted to be a teacher, but that's a story for another time._  
   
Piotr made it to the camp and shouted for his comrades. The black wolf struggled a bit before stopping, noticing that he’s not harming them so far; its chest was still pounding from fear, but was subsiding a bit as he started scratching at the fur. Bobby and Kurt were already awake and stretching in the forest chill before being startled by Piotr, and Clint rushed out of his tent a mess in surprise.  
   
“Comrades, I need your veterinarian help,” he exclaimed as he showed them the wolf pups. They were still “putting on their faces” as Piotr explained, “I found them near the river, the grey one hanging to dear life in the water, and the black one has injured leg. I’m unsure about the runt though.”  
   
After his friends gathered their baring’s, Piotr gave a pup to each to examine. Overall their health is good; the black one Clint has named Barney, looks to have a sprained leg and thankfully, the blood is not it’s own, Kurt’s pup, the gray pup he names Meggan, is just exhausted from the strain of staying on the plank, and Bobby’s, the white one named Johnny, appears to have no issues. On the contrary, it’s like a blazing ball of fire watching Johnny running back and forth between the two healing pups.  
   
“Mein Gott, Johnny has a lot of energy,” Kurt commented as Johnny goes to Bobby and starts play-biting his hands.  
   
“He’s happy for his families good health,” Piotr stated, “especially after seeing his sister almost drown.”  
   
“Where is their pack? Usually wolf pups this young don’t start leaving their dens till after they turn 1, but these three are too young to be separated like this,” Clint piped in, concern in his voice as he scratches under Barney’s chin.  
   
“Da, I think it vuld be best if ve take them to the center. Something about how you found dem sounds off,” Kurt says, looking to the quiet of the forest.  
   
“And besides, we still have to help Barney out right? It’s not like we’re going to leave them out here anyway.” Bobby says with certainty that his friends wouldn’t leave wolf pups all by themselves. They all answered by packing up the campsite, making sure to work around the pups.  
 

* * *

   
The Wolverine caught the scents of the kidnappers, (6 sets of prints, plus the smell of pups, 9 in all) and traced it to the river before part of it disappeared. Confusion at this, he sniffs around only to smell the cubs; it’s like their captors just ghosted without them around the river. It smells of a trap, but with the pups on the line, they can’t afford not to spring it. With that in mind, he motions forward, keeping an eye and ear open for traps. The smell spikes with fear and he growls as his pace quickens, realizing that one of them was in the water. Looking at the speeding river, he knew he was on a timetable.  
   
He came to a stop when he smells human in the air. Logan motions for the others to stop, and they slowly crept up to the spot he met that artist. They emerge from their positions, smelling that they’re alone, and inspects the area. It’s the Beast that finds the sketch work and supplies, showing that the muscular one was here again. It seems that the pups and the artist are gathered in one direction; relief showed when he smelled three pups. The smell leads them to a recently used opening, and by the smell of it they just missed the group that has their pups by at least an hour. As they ran through the woods, a faint smell started to mix in with the others they’re tracking; familiar like the ones that attacked their pack. Anger started to bubble in their stomachs flashes of memories started assaulting Logan in quick bursts.  
   
A guttural slash spilling blood, a scream in the air, murderous eyes peering through the dark; a name is spoken as the eyes bore through him. At the memories end, the words were too faint to hear, but the message was clear. His past has come back to haunt him. He runs towards the scent, warring between the rage of his memories and his duty to his pack, his family. He remembers the pups before they were taken and it sobers him up. He can’t find them while in a frenzy. So he grits his teeth and shoves his building anger to the back of his mind, ready to let loose the animal when he finds his prey…

 

* * *

  
Piotr arrived before everyone else, the wolves in hand as they entered the clinic; Margali was there to greet them. Piotr assumes that Kurt called ahead of time to see if there are any issues with poachers and such and she insisted she come to see the pups. Margali hugs Piotr in greeting before the rest, happy to see him after so long.  
   
“Ah, mein kinder has returned after so long. It’s sad to meet in such circumstances, but it seems te fates have other plans,” she says as she hugs everyone, carefully observing the pups in hand, “Curse those who vuld harm de young,” she commented with steel eyes. After a moment, she ordered, “Come, let us set Herr Barney’s leg and get them fed, we have to talk.”  
   
***  
   
After the pups have settled in, Margali spoke to them of the blood Barney had on his fur, one part tested wolf, another human. She then told them that there is little activities dealing with poachers, but she feels this could be part of a crueler hunt; then goes to explain how there would be attacks against protected packs in order to baby-nap the pups. This would send the wolves on a directed rage for vengeance and rescue. The unfortunate part is that they would be lured into populated area’s and picked off till the pack flees. The worst part is sometimes; pups that have been kidnapped would be sold over the black market. To say the group is seeing red is an understatement.  
   
“Mein Gott!” Kurt exclaims, “How can anyone be so cruel?”  
   
They were silent for a moment before Clint cursed under his breath and rushed to the pups. The others followed suit, all asking various forms of “what’s wrong.”  
   
“We’re idiots,” Clint stated, “What if they were going to sell the pups over the black market, wouldn’t they want to retrieve their merchandise? We’ve put the Clinic in danger.”  
   
A look of shock encompasses his friends, but Margali broke the silence first, “The kinder wolves are all ready to travel, and I’ve notified ze police. Sheriff Sitwell vil be here soon, but listen close,” she stresses, “Sometin’ doesn’t feel right, zem appearing like this. I vant you to be somewhere safe vile we figure things out.”  
   
“Mather, I can stay wit you when the police come,” Kurt pleads.  
   
“No, mein sohn, I believe your purpose lies elsewhere. No worries,” she says as she walks to the front desk and pulls out a shotgun, and waves her fingers around, energy shifting in the air, “I vil not be without protection.”  
   
‘Margali Szardos, everyone,’ Clint announces in his mind ‘veterinarian by day, magic practitioner by night.’ She’s nobody’s magician, but she should be enough for the random poacher.  
   
“Ok, Mather, ve’ll go.” And with hesitant steps, they all hug her goodbye.  
   
“Take care, and may the winding path lead you well.” Margali Szardos says as they enter their cars and head to Piotr’s.

 

* * *

   
Two figure hide behind a building across the street, watching as the group left.  
   
“Good job, Mutt” the standing figure says as she pulls hard on the leash of the crouching one. A sadistic smile forms when she hears the pained grunt, and walk out of sight. She brings out a phone and says, “It’s got the scent. The hunt is on…”


	5. The Confrontation

Confrontation

  
Piotr sat in back with Kurt as they observed the sleeping pups. They were sleeping soundly thanks in part to the hum their car produced. He looked up as he felt the car slowing down, too early for the long drive back to his house. “Is everything ok?” Piotr asks.

  
Clint parked the car and started exiting. “The road is blocked by a toppled tree. I’m going to check it out.” Clint walked towards the fallen oak; too big for him to pick up himself. He looked to the base and froze when he saw multiple cut marks, then proceeded to rush back to the car. He then made a U-turn back the way they came, partially freaking everyone out. “Piotr, do you know another way to your house?”

  
“Vat is de matter, Clint?” Kurt asks quietly as he rocked the pups back and forth back to sleep.

  
“Someone cut that hunk of tree down,” Clint says as he figures out where they could be safe “they’re going through a lot of trouble for 3 little runts, thats for sure.”

  
Before anyone responded, Bobby shouted, “Take this right,”

  
Clint veered to the right, and everyone shifted in their seats, Kurt making sure the puppies are ok. “Ok, so I took the right. Where are we heading?”

  
Bobby answered by bringing out a sheet of paper from the compartment. “Cassidy Dairy and America’s Meats and Produce are hosting a farmers market near here, if we can’t hide ourselves in a place hardly anyone knows about, then we might as well make sure they can’t do anything in a public area.” Everyone looks at Bobby for a silent moment.

  
“That... is not such a bad idea. Can’t do anything in public, all the while we can see if anyone out of the ordinary pops up.” Clint finally says, and about 15 minutes later, they’ve arrived to the farmers market as people were setting up their booths of organic products. After gathering the pups in hand, they make their way around the market, til Piotr sees a familiar pair of banners side by side. He ushers the group to the booths as he waves to Theresa as she sets up the baskets, “Good day, Theresa.”

  
“Peter, how’ve ye been” Theresa asks.

  
“Remember Theresa, it’s Piotr, with an “O”,” someone from underneath the booth says, followed by a loud thump as Sam got up and rubbed his head. “Ow. Here’s a few more.” Sam says as he hands a couple of baskets to Theresa and rubs his head while grinning to the group, “Hey y’all. It’s been a while.”

  
“Good day, Sam.” Piotr says as they put the mover down and split up around the booth. “Mind if I ask a favor of you?”

  
Sam saw the group looking about, and turned his attention back to Piotr, “Is everything ok?” he asks.

  
Bobby came over and “Eh, it’s something. Just not sure what just yet. Could you watch over our puppies for a little bit?”

  
Theresa and Sam both look into the mover; Smiles gushed from them both as they raised it to the table. “Awe. Dey’re so cute,” Theresa says.

  
Sam looks closer at the pups then looks to Piotr and Bobby, “These’re wolf pups aren’t they” it wasn’t a question, “what happened to ‘em?”

  
“Yeah, there’s poachers around the area, and lucky for them we were camping nearby when we found them.” Bobby says before he leave to check out the area with Clint.

  
“Poachers?” Sam says, “We don’t take kindly to poaching ‘round these parts. I’ll help y’all out with whatever I can.” He walks to his truck and backs it up to be parallel with the stand,

  
“Same ere. I’ll get Da an’ Steve.” Theresa says as she brings her phone out, “Did ye call de police?”

  
“Yes, but Margali believes they would be safer with us,” Piotr says.

  
“Aye, must be bad,” she states as she walks away. “I think I know a few friends that could ‘elp.  
 

* * *

   
It took Wolverine a few hours to regain his sanity, during which time he unconsciously kept away from his pack while burning his rage (The only victims were many unlucky trees along the road and numerous rabbits, and a pair of deer). He found himself in an open space of wood near the town. A sniff in the air has his hackles raised; it tells him pack members are nearby, but also the sent of pack blood is near.

  
He raises himself and howls his location. After a moment, the Beast, and Sabertooth appeared through the bush. Beast looked to Wolverine for signs of the rage while Sabertooth kept look. They came closer as they to smelled the blood of pack in the air, and a sense of rage started building in them. Wolverine turned to where the blood was strongest and started towards it, bruisers in tow.

 

* * *

   
Piotr keeps watch of the stands as he observes the crowd. He shouldn’t be surprised that the booth was selling baskets like hotcakes. The ever increasing line was almost too much for Sam and Piotr before Theresa brought Steve, who wore a concerned face for the situation. Sean was still bringing inventory from the farm, but between the four of them, they were able to fill in all the orders.

  
The line drew to its last few people when he noticed a group that had all kinds of red flags popping up.

  
The first three girls looked the youngest of the group, but two had collars around their necks and the blankest looks in their face, something akin to a living zombie while the . But as they approached, their expressions hardened. The shortest with black hair, crouched down to the ground, showing teeth, while the other with skin entirely magenta save for the marks on her forehead, brings her hand to a set of javelins. the redhead gets between them and with force bellows “Behave!” to which both cowered before her.  
She then looks to the four once-over and gives them the coldest smile Piotr’s ever seen, second only to Emma the one time Pierce decided to call her psycho, “I’m sorry for my hounds behavior. They should know better.” she motions to slap at one of them, and they cowered even further. Her sadistic smile grew, “Sinthea Shmidt and my associates, Flint Marko, Yuriko Oyama, and Ares. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she says as she gestures to the group behind her; a very intimidating set of bruisers and a woman that looks unassuming, but the fact she is with this group shows that she is not what she appears to be.

  
An eyebrow is raised as she gives her hand out to Piotr. He doesn’t take it, “Might I ask for what this show of force is about?”

  
“Straightforward. I like that in a Ruskie, but keep that hushed. My boyfriend can be deadly jealous when he thinks he can be upstaged. I on the other hand think its adorable,” she walks up to Piotr and strokes his cheek in a way that sends a shiver up his spine, “but on to business. I’m led to believe that you’re in possession of some property of mine. I can confirm that by this little mongrel,” she emphasized by pulling on something that made an energy leash seemingly out of nowhere and pulled the dark haired girl forward, “She has the most uncanny nose around, but anyhoo, I’ll be taking them now.”

  
“What are you going to do with them?” Clint asks as he and the others appear around them.

  
“That is none of your concern,” the tall lug of muscle spoke with intimidation as he walked towards them, “give me the pups or you’ll see how the God of War handles insolence.”

  
‘Oh shit,’ Clint whispers as he rounds next to Piotr, ‘We’ve got a ton of nuts with some screws loose.’ Before he had a chance to respond, Steve stepped forward.

  
“We have no patience for poachers. Leave now.” he says to the group. Sinthea’s sadistic smile turned flat as she straightened up. Everybody became tense as silence rang around the groups. Flint was the first to speak.

  
“You have no choice in the matter. We’ll get them one way or another,” he says as he raises a hands and sand envelops Steve. the other is motioned towards Clint and Bobby and his arm stretches towards them, covering them in sand also.

  
“Get off o them,” Theresa says as Sam rushes to Steve’s side, trying to dig him out of the granite-like sand.

  
“Looks like negotiations have broken down. Pity” Sinthea says as she an immovable Steve, “Give me the pups, and I’ll let your boy-toy go.”

  
Sam blushed for a moment before he got serious, “Let. Him. Go.”

  
“How cute.” Sinthea says as she gets up-close to Sam, “I’m thinking of letting my friend here crush him bit by bit, until those mongrels finally make an appearance. The question is, what are you going to do?”

  
Hearing Steve’s pained grunt was all it took; he punched Sinthea to the side, then rocketed to Flint, the recoil blasted Sinthea to the ground. He sped towards Flint connected with sand. The shock was enough to release the captives, they regrouped in time to see the War God bring out a freaking machine gun he held on his back.

  
“Shit, is that a Standard M134D!” Clint exclaimed, “Ever heard of Over-Kill!?!”

  
“No such thing in war,” was all Ares said as he let loose the barrage of bullets. Everyone flinched except for Theresa, who used her powers of sound to create a barrier in front of them, saving them.

  
“Is that all your little peashooter can do, or is that just to compensate for your...” she looks down for a moment, then chuckles, “...shortcomings”

  
Enraged, he switched something on the gun, and exclaimed, “Lets see you stop this!” he blasted three frags into the barrier, blowing all back from the epicenter. Theresa’s wall was broken, but was able to bounce the force back to Ares before she lost consciousness.

  
“That’s enough of that,” Clint grinds as he notches an arrow and releases it into the grenade barrel, then after a moment, it exploded in Ares hands. The explosion knocks him into a tree, but he lands on his feet with a wide grin. “Shit...”

  
“Enough!” Sinthea shouted as she straightened herself. “You reject my offer. So now, you learn the consequences of that.” she stated ominously. She looks at Steve and raised her hand.  
Piotr zeroed in on her target and rushed to him. A split second later, a shot was heard making contact with Piotr. *Tnk.

  
“Piotr!” Steve shouts before he notices silver armor plates appearing over him.

  
Piotr stands up, points to the trees, “over there” Piotr shouts. Sam rocketed to the sniper. Piotr pulls from his shirt a flattened bullet.

  
Steve looks at Sinthea, but asks, “you ok?”

  
“Da, I am ok.” he says. They back up, Steve going to an unconscious Theresa, hears Sam fly up in front of them. with Bobby and Clint come beside them. Kurt comes up behind them, dog carrier in hand, and uses Piotr as a shield should more shots be fired.

  
Sinthea gives a chilling smile, but before she could say anything, someone attacked her from behind. she rolls to see her assailant and barely dodges his metal claws from piercing her chest. Her assailant is knocked off by Flint and they find themselves surrounded by their original prey. She laughs for a second before she addresses Blink, “Blink, our quarry has arrived, you know what to do...,” she looks at the group of supers, “and bring the ‘heroes’ along too.”

  
Blink nods and she pulls spears of purple energy out of her quiver, then disappears into the ground with a purple ‘blink.’ She then appears overhead and throws spear after spear around them, and systematically goes through them.

  
She appeared behind the “sabertoothed" one and jabbed a spear onto his back. This sent him on a rage as he tried slashing at her. She then sidestepped him and used her momentum to throw him into a portal. the other two tried to lunge at her, only to disappear through the portals that appeared out of nowhere. Piotr and his group were shocked at what happened for a moment before she set her sights to them.

  
“Sam, get them out of here!” Clint exclaimed as he notched an arrow. He let it loose, only too late noticing the portal in front of her. Another appeared at his side and he found himself knocked out by his own arrow. Clint collapsed, and a portal appeared underneath. Piotr attempted to catch him, but was too late as the portal closed.

  
“Clint” Bobby shouted. He put up a ice barrier between them as Sam grabbed both Theresa and Steve. Sam blasted into the air as another portal appeared at Bobby’s side and Blink, from out of nowhere, kicked him into it.

  
“No!” Kurt exclaimed, as he handed the carrier to Piotr and joined the fray. Blink shot a spear to Kurt, but he teleported away, not realizing her intended target was Piotr until it was too late. Kurt teleported behind her and grabbed her as tight as he could, “Lets see how you like it.”

  
Blink couldn’t react fast enough; Kurt BAMF-ed around the area, pain from each port draining her strength. She made a last ditch effort to get rid of him; to randomly teleport both of them above the woods, she attempted to drive him into the ground. Surprised, Kurt teleported to the ground with less of an impact, but it was enough to let her go. Readying himself for a counterattack, he finds his opponent unconscious on the floor.

  
“Wunderbar” he sighs...  
 

* * *

  
“She has yet to return,” Yuriko states.

  
“it doesn’t matter at this point. If she did her job right, the forest is teeming with our prey.” Sinthea says.

  
“What of the others who fled back to the town?” Ares asks.

  
Sinthea thinks about this for a moment, “Ares, you and Flint go and bring them to me. They may be useful to me.”

  
“But-” Flint made to ask, before he was silenced by Sinthea’s statement.

  
“You remember why you’re here, no?” she says with a sneer.

  
Deflated, Flint nods.

  
“Then go, and do not fail” she orders, “as for the rest of you, try not to finish too fast” she says with a smile.


	6. Prelude to the Woods

Prelude

 

Sam jettisoned as fast as he could outta dodge to the Cassidy Dairy, and despite strain of two passengers, he was determined to make it; could barely hear Steve’s questions and exclamations because of it. He used this time to go over what in sam hill just happened. We were havin’ a ball, the farmers market was in full swing, then outta nowhere, these bruisers came an demanded the wolf pups Piotr saved.   
  
T’ make things worse, they had powers, and they harmed both Steve and Theresa. They had a sniper almost killed Steve, so I almost killed the guy back; dropped him from the trees before he had a chance to take another shot. Had to use m’ powers to git them outta there as people started disappearin faster than a snake dodging the IRS. If we make it through this, e’ll neva havta pay fer another of my products again.  
  
The Dairy was in view and Sam breathed a sigh of relief as he made the rough landing in front of the barn. “Sean, we have a situation!” Sam exclaims. He drops them for the moment and catches his breath.  
  
“Sam, are you ok?” Steve asks his hunched over savior.  
  
Before he has a chance to answer, Sean exits the barn, concern turned to shock as he saw his daughter unconscious on the ground, “Theresa!” he rushes to them and looks her over, “What ‘appened to me daughter?”  
  
“The poachers that took th’ wolf pups turned out to be using them as bait. They had nasty people with them, and one of ‘em had a blasted machine gun. Wasn’t fer Theresa, We’d be added to your collection of swiss by now.”  
  
“Shite” Sean exclaims. He examines Theresa once more and finds that she’s just unconscious, thank his lucky stars, then finally looks to Steve,” ye seem pretty stable, Steve, all things considerin’.”  
  
Sam looked in shock, forgetting that neither of them told Steve of their miraculous powers. Embarrassed and somewhat fearful, he stood up and started speed-walking away, “I’ll be at the farm, gettin ready should they dare t’ come round fer us.”  
  
“Sam,” Steve says as he tries to catch up to him, but before he has a chance to do so, Sam jets away. Steve looks up in awe at how he flies, now that he has the right mind to do so.  
  
“Skittish lad, he is, and quite rightfully so.” Sean commented after a moment.  
  
It took Steve a moment to register that, “what do you mean? What happened to Sam?” he asked, voice full of concern.  
  
“Not muy story t’ tell,” he eyes Steve for a moment, then adds, “but seeing as how tis situation might bring up some memories, an’ ye haven’t been ‘ere long enough t’ know, Aye’d best be givin ye some background t’ this town. C’mon.” he says as he picks up his daughter.  
  
They go into the house next door and Sean places Theresa on the couch. “We moved inta town bout 14 years next month, an’ we did’na know how small town folks think of us.”  
  
“Us?” Steve asks.  
  
“Mutants, yeah. Hateful folks and their like usually grow like mould in ignorant places like tis. Told Theresa to mind who she makes friends wit too, but she’s a free spirit, she is.” Sean looks to Theresa, before continuing on, “imagin muy surprise t’ find she made friends with th’ Guthrie kid, a well known face with a long lived name t’ this town. Tey became fast friends, and she wanted t’ tell him ‘bout our secret; Aye said nay, that people would fear us fer what tey don’ understand. T’en people came and tried to take ‘er away, called themselves the Purifiers. Radical piece of shits, but dangerous nonetheless. They somehow knew of her powers, an were ready fer her; she screamed as loud as she could before tey tranq’d ‘er.”   
  
He paused for a moment before he continued, “Aye swear we could hear it through town. As soon as Aye heard it, Aye wen’t an flew as fast as i could to the source of the scream, an’ as Aye arrived, saw a group of kids, the Guthrie’s brood, Aye found out later, defendin ma daughter with all t’eir worth. One had skin that she could pull offa her like huskin corn, another flew wit’ red wings an’ distracted th’ gunmen, while the last one, Sam, came as fast as a cannonball, with as much force as one too. As the would-be kidnappers regrouped, Aye came in an’ gave them one of my most focused wails, one that banshee’s be jealous of, an broke naught only their ears, but was close to breaking every bone in their bodies.”  
  
“As soon as Aye finished up wit’ the slime on t’ ground, a bunch of people started towards us. Aye thought they’d be comin t’ force us out, an sought to defend muy daughter an her saviors, before I met with Lucinda an’ Thomas Guthrie. Tey said to me that their town is based on Sanctuary for folks like us. That these people were here t’ defend us should we be needing it. Shocked an’ suspicious was an understatement t’ what Aye was feelin’ at th’ time. Then Aye met with the sheriff, Phil Coulson, who explained a zero-tolerance policy to any an’ all types of hate, prejudice, discrimination, ect., when it comes to people of different backgrounds, be it race, orientation, genetics, or in some cases, extra-terrestrial.”  
  
“Wow, I knew things were different here in town, but this is on a whole other level,” Steve said, ingesting all that Sean said.  
  
Sean gave him a look before saying, “Ye think Theresa’s th’ only time Sam an’ his group came to blows with people hunting down his own? T’ boy has had trust issues with others before, but he seems to trust you more than Aye’ve seen in anyone else. Aye would’na be telling you this if he didn’t like ya; that bein’ said, donna be messing wit’ ‘im.”  
  
Steve understood what Sean was trying to say, “I swear I’ll not betray his trust.”  
  
Sean saw the conviction in his eyes and grinned widely, “That’s what Aye wanted t’ hear, ladde. Well then, we’d best be getting ready t’ welcome our company. Head back t’ the farm an’ help Sam, Aye’ll be makin’ some calls.”  
  
Steve said his goodbyes and started toward the farm.


	7. The Woods Part 1: Connections 1 of 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bobby, Kurt, Clint and Piotr find themselves separated, lost in the woods; Though they will soon find themselves far from alone. Will the strangers they meet be allies, or enemies?

The Woods Part 1

Connections 1 of 2

 

 

Bobby

 

 

“Ow. Let me tell you, ow!” Bobby says to nobody in particular, “That girl really knows how to kick, damn.” He looks to where he’s at before commenting, “well, I’m lost.”

 

He’s not too worried about that, he thinks as he climbs a tree to get the lay of the land. Lights still out, so maybe he can see how close to town he is. As he nears the top, he can just see over the horizon of trees, and as he gets a 360 view he realizes he’s pretty close to the river. He’ll just reach the river and follow that path on his way back to town. He makes his way down, making sure the branches are steady before putting his weight on each.

 

Bobby reached down one of the last branches when he notices something in the corner of his eye. He turns to look at what it is, sees a furry blue face a foot away from his and jumped in surprise, losing his grip on the branch and free-falling to the ground. He lowers his hands to the ground and launched an ice blast, creating a pillar that he was able to grab, and slid to the ground hard. The landing knocked the air out of him, and he groaned in pain. He could hear cackling from somewhere overhead; Bobby raised his head to see the beast effortlessly clinging to a branch on his hind legs.

“Oh, a wise guy, ey?” Bobby whispers as he gets a breath, and let loose a blast of slush, knocking Blue off the branch he was on and landing in the snow. When Blue emerged, he had a Santa Claus beard going for him, “Nice look you’ve got going there, Blue. It really suits you.” Bobby laughs out.

 

He laughs for a bit before realizing Blue was growling and he stopped to see getting out of the snow and starting towards him on all fours. Bobby waves at him and says, “Exit, stage right,” as he booked it to the river. Bobby looked over his shoulder and saw Blue gaining to him, so Bobby turned and created a makeshift ice wall that went up to the trees. The guy freaked Bobby out when, somehow, he vaulted over the wall and swung around in the branches.

 

“Oh, Shit!” he exclaimed as Blue neared him. Bobby brought his hands to the ground and extended ice blasts through the air, giving him the out he needs. He slid around with great speed, barely avoiding Blue’s acrobatic grabs. Bobby was skilled in skating and the ability to create a flat track at will made sure he was one step ahead of his pursuer. He saw the clearing to the river, and used his skating momentum to jump.

 

As he was readying an ice blast to create a ramp, he felt hands around his ankles. He turned to see Blue reaching out his hind legs to grab me, and his forelegs to grasp at a branch; Blue pulled them back to the forest and pinned me to a tree. They stood that way for a bit before he inevitably broke the silence, “Well? You have me in your mitts. What happens now?”

 

 

***

 

 

McCoy doesn’t really know how to answer that. His curiosity got the best of him after that second portal opened up to see the boy shooting blasts from his hands; before the girl kicked him through, that is. He only meant to observe the man, but was hilariously surprised when he fell off the branch after he noticed me. He was surprised once more when a surge of cold knocked him off his branch to the floor. Hank felt a rush of anger, as he stalked towards him. He rose from the slush, and the man did a comedic takeaway before running off, nearly stifling Hanks anger.

 

On foot Hank was gaining up to him, and even the wall of ice he made from thin air didn’t stop him long. In fact, he used his momentum to push himself over; the look on the Iceman’s face was hilarious and the chase became one of enjoyment rather than punishment. Before he continued on, he looked to their destination; the river. He barreled down with enthusiasm, curious to see what the iceman will do next to evade capture. He saw blasts of ice extend through the forest, creating seamless ground of ice, but that’s not half as surprising as how he’s getting away; using the frictionless ground to gain speed, all the while creating a space that, were he on the ground, would have impeded him greatly.

 

As it was, Hank had to stop himself before he did land on the ice ground. He swung on a branch and brought himself back to the trees. He wasn’t done yet, as he jumped branch by branch, gaining momentum and speed as he carried on. He saw the man create a upward slope of ice, and he realized they were nearly at the clearing. Hank pushed himself and when the iceman launched himself to the air, he reached with all his length to grab at him, barely grabbing at the ankles; his grasp on the branch straining with the extra weight. He pulled his legs up and swung back to the woods.

 

He threw them up in the air, and Hank landed on his hind legs, seamlessly grabbing the iceman upright and pinned his capture to the tree. Reeling at this, he gave themselves a moment to breath. After a bit of silence, the man spoke up, “Well? You have me in your mitts. What happens now?”

 

Beast considers this for a moment, giving the iceman space. He motions to speak, but as always, he is unable to voice himself. The Iceman looked at him considerately, but before he was able to say anything, Hank jabbed a claw to the dirt, and starts drawing figures as best he could. He starts with a canine figure, pausing when recognition was shown on the man's face before continuing on drawing a cage around the canine with a growl.

 

"Those pups are with you?" He asked. Hank nodded.

 

"So apparently they were using those pups as bait to lure you out, you know." He continued on. Hank growled menacingly. His bloodlust was abated when the man put an open hand to his face, "My name's Bobby, and I'd like to help you get these douches out of my town."

 

Shock evident in his eyes, Hank hesitated a moment before grabbing Bobby's hand awkwardly and giving his intelligible answer.

 

Bobby winced, "Eeh, I'll call ya Blue for now, is that okay?"

 

Hank nodded.

 

 

Kurt

 

 

He had carried the girl for a while now, hoping that civilization was around the corner, to no avail. Kurt teleported up to see the landscape, only to find a glimmer of their town in the horizon. He would teleport through the forest, if he didn’t have the fear of BAMF-ing into a tree. Even so, he would need all the energy he could muster should he meet with his adversaries once more. Kurt looked to his captive, still unconscious, and wonders what horrors they did to her to make her as mindless as her eyes portrayed.

 

Before he could continue on, he heard shouting off in the distance. He knew his friends were in the woods, but those naked strangers should be around also. Placing the unconscious teleporter down, Kurt walked to the sound. As it got louder, Kurt got quieter, and started sticking to the shadows. Soon he arrived at the scene to find a rage-fueled beast rolling and tearing at everything. He saw the guy trying to reach behind him, but unable to reach his target, he went on with blind destruction.

 

Kurt looks at what he’s trying to reach, and sees the spear his captive teleporter used still embedded in the center of his back. Seeing the cause of the creature’s plight, he readies himself to do something about it, but before Kurt has a chance to do anything, the guy stops and sniffs the air wildly. He struggled with the pain, but kept on, trying to find who is around. All of a sudden, the wild man turns to Kurt with a predatory face on him and charged towards him.

 

Kurt barely teleported away in time, as the teeth of his attacker almost had him. The guy was on him again when he reappeared, and again, Kurt teleported. Kurt evaded every attack thus far, but his endurance wouldn’t hold out for long against this onslaught. He figured he at least had to try and take the spear out of the guys back to calm the guy down, if nothing else release him from the pain. With a prayer, he teleported behind the guys back and grabbed at the spear. He felt instant pain, but kept hold as he teleported again off the guy, spear in hand.

 

With a shout, he released the spear and grasped at his hand in pain. How could he withstand such pain for so long, Kurt thought? Before he had a chance to catch his bearings, he was forcefully slammed into the ground. Before he knew it, he was face to face with the beast. He flinched, waiting for the claws that never came. Kurt looked up to a contemplative looking wild man.

 

After a moment of nothing happening, Kurt decided to take a closer look at his would-be killer. Long hair, scruffy square jaw, and long protruding canines, making him look akin to a sabretooth tiger, with intense blue eyes that’s stirring up the butterflies in his stomach. Just when things start to get uncomfortable, Sabretooth, he aptly calls him, grabs his arms, and looks at his hands for a moment. Then he started to lick at the calluses.

 

***

 

‘Pain! Pain! So much pain,’ Victor thinks as he tries to pry the blasted thing off him. He’s been going around for what seems like hours, thrashing around for relief that never came. Through the pain, he smells it. The scent of his bane; the being who caused his pain is near. Victor rears his head upward and sniffs around, trying to pinpoint where in the brush the person is, only to find the barest outline of someone in the shadows. Not her then, but the smell is unmistakable; when Victor finds the scent of his quarry, he never relents. With that in mind, he charges forward.

 

The figure teleported before his claws could reach, the smell of brimstone obscures his nose. He hears the figure reappear behind him and lunges to smoke once more. Every time he reappeared, Victor struck, and every time, he missed. Victor was at the breaking point of his feral nature, before the guy teleported behind him with a scream, and all of a sudden, the pain was gone. Like a breath of fresh air, his pain subsided to his healing factor.

 

The man reappeared beside him, still crying out in pain before he made to release the dammed spear. By experience, he found that teleporters were slippery, so after a breath, he lunged to grab at him; to stop him before he left for good. The guy flinched at him, but Victor wasn’t going to harm him. In truth, Victor wanted a closer look at the man brave enough to face off against him in his rage.

 

He looks thin, but not skin and bones. Toned, not gangly and he knew how to move to avoid my attacks, and has great dexterity. Victor smiled at that, before frowning at the man’s hands. Victor grabbed at his captive’s arms, and raised to present the callused hands. He knew he had healing abilities, and an interesting side effect was that he had healing saliva; Victor proceeded to lick the wounds.

 

“Vat are you-?” The blue fuzzy one squirmed as he switched between blistered hands. Kurt felt the burns form to slight stinging as his hands stitched into scabs. He shook his hands, and they fell off; he found his hands free of injury, “Vat ever this is, danke.”

 

Grumbles are all Victor gave in answer. He let loose Blue’s arms after one more once over and backed away a step. He spoke, “My name is Kurt Wagner. Can you understand?”

 

Victor opened his mouth slightly, but all that came out were grunts. He knew words, but was unsure how to form them. He kept trying to speak, but they all came out intelligible. Kurt put a hand to Victor, with a consoling smile he says, “Is ok, mein friend No need to rush speaking for now. Ve need to do though, is regroup with the others.”

 

***

 

Kurt rises on steady legs as he walks towards where he put the teleporting girl. Sniffing heard behind him was all the warning he had before he was brushed to the side, Sabretooth rushing the same direction.

 

“Mein Gott!” Kurt ported in front of him to try and halt the rampage, but to no effect as he was brushed off again. He ports once more, this time to the girl. He grabs her and teleports her just in time to avoid the claws reaching her head.

 

“Please, Friend. You don’t have to do dis,” Kurt pleads as he avoids getting grabbed. He jumps to a tree, trying to make space, but the wild man was determined. He leaped greater than Kurt thought possible, and got a hand between them. He pried Kurt away, the girl falling to the ground. Kurt ports under her and cushioned her fall.

 

He didn’t even notice when claws were raised overhead til he glanced up, and Kurt froze as the wild man froze in place, eyes wide. How long they were in place, frozen, Kurt didn’t know, but the recognition turned furious as motion returned to the wild man’s hand. Kurt was too slow and the claws met their mark. Kurt ported away from him, panic in his eyes, as he looked over where the fatal wound should have been. Instead, he saw the mangled remnants of the girl’s collar fall to the ground.

 

The wild man walks slowly to them, a solemn look overtook his features, and said, “…Name’s Victor.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2 of 2 coming up next week

**Author's Note:**

> Criticism is always accepted, but flamers are not. I'll be working on other projects along side this so please don't kill me with a baseball bat if i take too long.


End file.
